I was talking to a writer friend, someone in the same position as myself - talent, drive, great specs but no Hollywood sales yet. My friend mentioned the commercial potential of Dark Rum Chronicles as a "no brainer". I thanked him and asked what he was working on. He said an indie comedy, that's where his sensibilities lie. But wait - this friend wants to write for Hollywood! So, what's the problem?
The problem is the current spec market. If you don't know what I'm talking about, go to www.lifeonthebubble.com. Jason Scoggins runs this website, which tracks screenplay sales throughout the year. The numbers aren't pretty. In fact, you should probably be sitting down and have some sort of liquor close by before you take look. They're dismal. Which means a new writer getting a spec sold nowadays is almost impossible. Yes, impossible (almost).
Today's spec market is so slim and ultra-competitive you have to absolutely ensure you give yourself the best chance possible, or you'll never get work. How do you do this? Write what studios want to buy. What do studios want to buy? Properties that will make them MONEY. Like, Avatar/The Dark Knight money. Think your indie relationship film is going to do that? Neither do they. Which is why they won't even consider it past the logline.
Does that mean you have to "sell out" or write crap? Absolutely not. What it does mean is what you're writing has to be in line with your career aspirations. If your dream is to make indie films, I say go for it (I have a few indie ideas gestating myself). Just don't hold any illusions. The cold, hard truth is your intimate indie project will never attract Hollywood assignments. Not in today's climate.
That's not to say you can't go out & shoot it yourself - that plan of attack is probably the best way to go in any case. But if your eye is on a Hollywood career, you'll either have to shoot your own indie and hope it hits big (which are astronomical odds once you take a look at festival submissions and the indie market/financing in general), or write what Hollywood is buying. Specs from new writers rarely get sold. Today's spec market is dryer than ever. Now more than ever, you have only ONE CHANCE to impress "the gatekeepers" with your concept. So make sure your writing projects reflect the kind of career you envision. What are YOU writing?
8 years ago
Thanks for the shout-out. I'll be spooling back up with Spec Market Roundups and the Spec Market Scorecard starting next month (once there's enough data to crunch), and those reports will continue to live at lifeonthebubble.com.
ReplyDeleteIf you're a film development junky like me, you might be interested in taking a look at the free section of www.itsonthegrid.com, here: http://blog.itsonthegrid.com. That's where I've started to post daily film development news (spec info as well as OWAs and similar stuff). It's mostly stuff that hasn't hit the trades yet, but I link to Variety and the Reporter when they break particularly interesting news, too.
A final thought for pre-pro writers: Yes, it's a tough market right now, maybe as tough as it's ever been. But it's going to get better, and this business is a marathon, not a sprint. So keep writing. The best (only?) way to break in as a writer is to have a hard drive full of fantastic material that your eventual agents and managers can not only sell but use as samples to put you up for open writing assignments.
My $.02.
[Hope you don't mind the shameless self-promotion, but I thought it fit with the above. Feel free to delete or edit as you see fit.]
- scoggins
Jason, thank YOU for all the hard work and generosity in sharing your findings. Truly indispensable info for the career-minded; EVERY screenwriter should have It's on the Grid & Life on the Bubble bookmarked!
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